Method and system for creating visualizations

ABSTRACT

There is provided a method and an apparatus for creating visualizations. Specifically, there is provided a computer-implemented method for creating visualizations, the method comprising importing data, generating an interaction rule for the data, and creating a visualization using the data and the interaction rule. An apparatus for implementing the method is also provided.

BACKGROUND

This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects ofart, which are related to various aspects of the present invention thatare described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to behelpful in providing the reader with background information tofacilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the presentinvention. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statementsare to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.

Graphical visualizations, such as bar charts or line charts are commonlyused to display data streams. Financial data such as stock marketinformation and status information about a computer network are twoexamples of data that a user may desire to view graphically. For largeamounts of data, first layer visualizations are typically not detailedenough to effectively display the data stream. For this reason, secondlayer, third layer, or even lower layer (i.e. more detailed)visualizations can also be created to provide increased resolution ofthe data within the data stream. For complex or large data streams, thecreation of meaningful visualizations is often difficult and burdensome.

The visualizations mentioned above are created many ways. First, thelower layer visualizations can be created by pre-programming a softwareprogram to display a pre-defined sequence of visualizations. Forexample, in a financial context, the user programs the software todisplay a first layer visualization of stock market performance and thento display lower layer visualizations of certain pre-selected stocks.While this technique permits display of detailed information from thedata stream, it disadvantageously limits the display to only thepre-selected data (i.e., the specific stocks pre-selected by the user).A second type of sequence of visualizations permits a user to manuallydrill down to a lower layer visualizations by selecting a portion of thefirst layer (or lower layer) visualization to expand. While thistechnique permits the creation of lower layer visualizations thatdisplay the specific information desired by a user, this technique ofteninvolves manual interaction with the first layer visualization and thusis not often suitable for automated reporting.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Advantages of one or more disclosed embodiments will become apparentupon reading the following detailed description and upon reference tothe drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a computer system illustrating oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a process flow illustrating one embodiment of a process forcreating a sequence of visualizations;

FIG. 3 illustrates one embodiment of a data stream displayed as aspreadsheet;

FIG. 4 illustrates one embodiment of a graphical user interfacedisplaying an exemplary first layer visualization;

FIG. 5 illustrates one embodiment of a graphical user interfacedisplaying an exemplary second layer visualization;

FIG. 6 illustrates one embodiment of a graphical user interfacedisplaying an exemplary third layer visualization;

FIG. 7 illustrates one embodiment of a graphical user interfacedisplaying an exemplary third layer visualization;

FIG. 8 illustrates one embodiment of a graphical user interfacedisplaying an exemplary first layer visualization; and

FIG. 9 illustrates one embodiment of a graphical user interfacedisplaying an exemplary first layer visualization.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

One or more specific embodiments of the present technique will bedescribed below. In an effort to provide a concise description of theseembodiments, not all features of an actual implementation are describedin the specification. It should be appreciated that in the developmentof any such actual implementation, as in any engineering or designproject, numerous implementation specific goals, such as compliance withsystem-related and business-related constraints, which may vary from oneimplementation to another. Moreover, it should be appreciated that sucha development effort might be complex and time consuming but wouldnevertheless be a routine understanding of design, fabrication, andmanufacture for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of thisdisclosure.

The present application is directed towards a system that can createvisualizations based on interaction rules instead of pre-selected data.These interaction rules interact with the data in the data stream tocreate a sequence of visualizations that are customized to theparticular data in the data stream. This feature is particularadvantageous in the context of automated, periodic reporting because thesystem interacts with the data with each periodic reporting to createvisualizations that display the information that is most important to aparticular user.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a computersystem 10. The computer system 10 includes a processor 11, anintelligent interface 12, a visualization constructor 14, and an imagecompositor 16. In one embodiment, the processor 11 comprises theintelligent interface 12, the visualization constructor 14, and theimage compositor 16. In another embodiment, the processor 11 interactswith the intelligent interface 12, the visualization constructor 14, andthe image compositor 16. The processor 11 comprises any one of a numberof suitable processors. In one embodiment, the processor 11 is locatedwithin a computer system.

As will be described in greater detail below, the intelligent interface12 interacts with the visualization constructor 14 to generate asequence of data-driven multi-layered visualizations. The intelligentinterface 12 is configured to import incoming data at a specified timeinterval. The intelligent interface 12 also interfaces with thevisualization constructor 14 to set a color scale for the visualizationand to lay out for the visualizations. In one embodiment, applicationinterfaces (“APIs”) within the intelligent interface 12 perform thistask. Further, the intelligent interface 12 generates a set ofinteraction rules to guide the visualization constructor 14 in creatingthe sequence of data-driven visualizations

The visualization constructor 14 constructs a sequence of multi-layereddata-driven graphs and images for real-time data exploration withoutuser interaction. This visualization technique is driven by the datainstead of the user. In particular, the visualization constructor 14generates the sequence of graphical visualizations by simulatingwindow-like properties, such as window height, window width, windowframing, and window panels. In one embodiment, the visualizationconstructor 14 creates the sequence of graphical visualizations with adefault window configuration that is based on the origin and dimensionsof the computer screen. For example, the visualization constructor 14can create the sequence of visualization as a rectangle with an originand dimensions of 10, 50, 1000, and 6000. In alternate embodiments,however, other window configuration based on the incoming data can beused. The visualization constructor 14 can also use drilldowns,filtering, or zooming to generate different types and levels ofvisualization to most efficiently display the data stream.

The image compositor 16 transforms the visualizations generated by thevisualization constructor 14 into an image file, such as JPG file. Inone embodiment, the image compositor 16 also exports the image files toa storage medium. In another embodiment, the image compositor 16composes the image files into a computer slideshow. In yet anotherembodiment, the image compositor 16 creates an image file that permits auser to get more detailed information by pointing a graphical pointer atpart of the image. In still another embodiment, the image compositor 16composes the image files on a web page.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the intelligent interface12, the visualization constructor 14, and the image compositor 16 can behardware, firmware, software, or some combination of hardware, firmware,and software. In alternate embodiments, the intelligent interface 12,the visualization constructor 14, and the image compositor 16 do notnecessarily solely comprise the functions as illustrated. In otherwords, the functions attributed to the intelligent interface 12, thevisualization constructor 14, and the image compositor 16 are merely oneexample and other embodiments can be envisaged wherein the functionsdescribed above are split up differently or wherein some components arenot included or other components are included.

FIG. 2 is a process flow illustrating one embodiment of an exemplaryprocess 50 for creating a sequence of data-driven visualizations. Theprocess 50 begins by importing a data stream, as indicated in block 52.In one embodiment, importing the data stream comprises receiving atransmission from a data collection source. In another embodiment,importing the data stream comprises communicating with a storage mediumto download the data. In some embodiments, data is importedperiodically. For example, the computer system 10 can download the datastream once every fifteen minutes.

Once the data in the data stream has been imported, the process 50continues with data selection, as indicated in block 54 of FIG. 2. Dataselection is employed because the data stream can comprise more datathan the user wishes to display in the sequence of graphicalvisualizations. For this reason, during this step of the process 50, theintelligent interface 12 can select a subset of information from thedata stream to be displayed. For example, in one embodiment, dataselection comprises selecting all of the data in the data stream. Inalternate embodiments, data selection comprises selecting only a subsetof the data in the data stream. In one embodiment, this selection isperformed by a set of application interfaces (“APIs”) that interfacewith the visualization constructor 14 to limit what data is displayed inthe sequence of graphical visualizations. In addition, during the dataselection process, the intelligent interface 12 uses the set of APIs toset a color scale and lay out a structure for the sequence of graphicalvisualizations. The color scale and structure for the sequence ofvisualizations are either be programmed in advance by the user orgenerated by the intelligent interface 12 based on the selected data.

Once data selection is complete, the intelligent interface 12 generatesa set of interaction rules, as indicated in block 56. The interactionrules specify which visualizations will comprise the sequence ofvisualizations and in what order the sequence of visualizations will bedisplayed. The interaction rules are based both on the structure of theselected data and the selected data itself. In one embodiment, theinteraction rules are generated by accessing a list of stored userpreferences, determining how the data corresponds to the stored userpreferences, and generating the interaction rules based on thecorrespondence between the data and the stored user preferences. Forexample, in a stock market reporting context, the user preferences couldspecify creating a sequence of visualizations comprising a graphicalvisualization of overall performance of the stock market and creatinglower layer graphical visualizations for the three stocks that increasedin value the most during the previous 24 hours. The intelligentinterface 12 employs these user preferences to generate the interactionrules, which provide a framework that permits the visualizationconstructor 14 to create visualizations that are based on the dataitself. This sequence of visualizations displays detailed informationthat is of interest to the user (i.e., information about the threestocks with the greatest increase in value) without the user having tomanually select the particular stocks to be displayed.

Once generated, the interaction rules provide detailed information aboutwhat data is to be displayed in the sequence of visualizations, andthus, the interaction rules serve as a guide to the visualizationconstructor 14 in constructing the sequence of visualizations. In oneembodiment, the interaction rules can be generated based on instructionspre-programmed into the intelligent interface 12. In alternateembodiments, the interaction rules are generated by the intelligentinterface 12, itself based on the data selected.

After the interaction rules have been generated, the visualizationconstructor 14 simulates a window in which to construct the sequence ofvisualizations. In one embodiment, the visualization constructor 14simulates a window that resembles windows created in the MicrosoftWindows™ operating system. In one embodiment, this window has a heightand a width that corresponds to the edges of a display and includesframes and panels that create boundaries for the window. In oneembodiment, all of the visualizations in the sequence of visualizationsemploy windows that have similar properties. In alternate embodiments,however, the properties of the individual window will vary depending onthe properties of the data being displayed in the particular graphicalvisualization.

Once the first layer visualization has been created, the visualizationconstructor 14 can create the lower level visualizations, as indicatedby block 62. As stated above, the visualization constructor 14 employsthe set of interaction rules generated by the intelligent interface 12to guide the construction of the lower level visualizations.Specifically, the visualization constructor 14 creates lower levelvisualizations to display any data or class of data specified in theinteraction rules.

Next, returning to the process 50 in FIG. 2, the visualizationconstructor 14 creates the first layer visualization, as illustrated inblock 60. The first layer visualization is created in the windowsimulated by the visualization constructor 14. The first layervisualization comprises virtually any type of visualization, including,but not limited to, an icon, a graphic, a bar graph, a pie chart, apistol chart, or a line chart. In one embodiment, the first layervisualization employs color to more effectively present data.

FIG. 3 illustrates one embodiment of an exemplary data stream 70displayed as a spreadsheet. The data stream 70 comprises a collection ofinformation relating to requests for Internet service. For example, asshown in the columns 72, 74, 76, the data stream 70 comprisesinformation relating to one or more customers, one or more servicesprovided to the customers, and one or more websites supported. Further,as seen in columns 78, 80, 82, and 84, the data stream 70 also comprisesinformation on the number of service level object (“SLO”) violations(i.e., when service was not provided within a pre-determined timethreshold) for each website that was provided service (column 78). Inthis column, a “one” represents a SLO violation and a “zero” representsthe absence of an SLO violation. The column 80 represents availability,column 82 setup time, and column 84 response time. Lastly, column 86represents a date/time stamp for the particular service request. Eventhough the data stream 70 is illustrated in FIG. 3 as a spreadsheet,those skilled in the art will appreciate that in alternate embodiments,the data stream can be stored or represented in a variety of forms,including, but not limited to, a database and a linked list. Further, itwill be appreciated that the data stream is shown in an abbreviated formfor illustrative purposes. In alternate embodiments, the data streamcomprises a thousand or more data entries.

In regards to the exemplary data stream 70 illustrated in FIG. 3, theinteraction rules specify which providers or which websites will bedisplayed in the sequence of graphical graphs. For example, theinteraction rules specify creating a first layer visualization thatdisplays the volume of service for each of the providers 1 and 2 alongwith the number of SLO violation (FIG. 4). Further, the interactionrules specify creating lower layer visualizations to display responsetime for the provider with most SLO violations (FIG. 5) and the set-uptime and availability of the individual website from that provider withthe worst response time (FIGS. 6 and 7).

FIG. 4 illustrates one embodiment of a graphical user interfacedisplaying an exemplary first layer visualization 100. The first layervisualization 100 is based on the data stream 70 described in regard toFIG. 3. Further, the first layer visualization is created by employingthe exemplary interaction rules discussed above. Specifically, the firstlayer visualization 100 displays a visualization of the total volume ofservice for each of the providers from the data stream 70 along with avisualization of the number of SLO violations.

In particular, the volume of service is arrayed along a y-axis 102, andthe two service providers are displayed as graphical bars 104 and 106.Each of the graphical bars 104 and 106 is subdivided into two regions torepresent the number of service requests to each provider that resultedin SLO violations versus the number of requests that did not result inan SLO violation. For example, the graphical bar 104 is divided into aregion 108 which displays the number of requests that resulted in an SLOviolation and a region 110 which represents the number of requests thatwere provided service. Similarly, graphical bar 106 is divided intoregions 112 and 114. Those skilled in the art will appreciate thatdividing the graphical bars 104 and 106 into visually distinctiveregions merely adds an additional dimension to the first layervisualization 100. In alternate embodiments, the graphical bars 104 and106 are subdivided differently or are not subdivided.

The first layer visualization 100 also comprises a legend 116 whichindicates to a viewer of the first layer visualization 100 what thesub-regions of the graphical bars 104 and 106 represent. In someembodiments, the legend 116 is omitted from the first layervisualization 100. In one embodiment, the first layer visualization 100is also configured to support pointer-driven value display. In oneembodiment, when a pointer is pointed at the sub-section of thevisualization, the value of a sub-section of the visualization isdisplayed. For example, FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary pointer andvalue 118.

Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that the graphical bars104 and 106 shown in the first layer visualization 100 are merely onetechnique for displaying the data stream. In alternate embodiments,other types of visualizations, such as pistol charts, line charts or piecharts, can be employed to represent the data stream. In still otherembodiments, the first layer visualization is arranged hierarchicallywith different levels of the hierarchy displayed through differingshades or colors.

FIG. 5 illustrates one embodiment of a graphical user interfacedisplaying an exemplary second layer visualization 150. The second layervisualization 150 is based on the data stream 70 described in regard toFIG. 3. Further, the second layer visualization 150 is created byemploying the exemplary interaction rules discussed above. Specifically,the second layer visualization 150 displays the response times bywebsite for the provider with most SLO violations. As stated above, inalternate embodiments, the interaction rules could have specified thatthe second layer visualization 150 be created to display any one of anumber of elements of the data stream.

In one embodiment, the second layer visualization 150 expands on one ofthe graphical bars displayed in the first layer visualization 100. Thisexpansion is also referred to also drilling down or creating a drilldownvisualization. In the case of the second layer visualization 150, it isa drilldown graphical visualization from the graphical bar 104. As withthe first layer visualization 100, the second layer visualization 150comprises a y-axis 152, which represent the number of service requests.In the second layer visualization 150, the three websites with highestvolume of service requests for provider 1 are arrayed along the x-axis.Those skilled in the art will appreciate that three websites are shownillustrative purposes only, and in alternate embodiments, theinteraction rules could have specified that any one number of a numberof sub-elements from the graphical bar 104 comprise the second layervisualization 150.

The second layer visualization 150 comprises graphical bars 154, 156,and 158 which represent service requests to each of the three websites.As with the graphical bars 104 and 106 shown in FIG. 4 (from column 70of FIG. 3), the graphical bars 154, 156, and 158 are sub-divided into aseries of visually distinctive regions from the graphical bar 104. Inthe case of the second layer visualization 150, each of the graphicalbars 154, 156, and 158 is divided into a series of regions correspondingto the response time of each individual service request with the totalresponse time displayed above each of the graphical bars 154, 156, and158. In this embodiment, the second layer visualization 150 alsocomprises a legend 160 to display which usual distinctions correspond towhich response times in the second layer visualization 150. Thoseskilled in the art will also appreciate that the graphical bars 154,156, and 158 shown in the second layer visualization 150 are merely onetechnique for displaying the data stream. In alternate embodiments,other types of visualizations, such as graphics, icons, line charts,pistol charts, or pie charts, can be employed to represent the datastream. In one embodiment, the second layer visualization 150 isconfigured to support pointer-driven value display. In one embodiment,when a pointer is pointed at the sub-section of the visualization, thevalue of a sub-section of the visualization is displayed. For example,FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary pointer and value 162.

The visualization constructor 14 (FIG. 1) can also create additionallower level visualizations to display any data or class of dataspecified in the interaction rules. For example, FIG. 6 illustrates oneembodiment of a graphical user interface displaying an exemplary thirdlayer visualization 250. The third layer visualization 250 displays theset-up time of the individual website from the second layervisualization 154 with the worst response time (i.e., graphical bar154). The third layer visualization 250 illustrates four regions 252,254, 256, and 258 representing the volume of requests corresponding toparticular ranges of setup times. For example, the region 252 indicatesthe number of requests that had a setup time between 2.5 seconds and 4seconds, whereas the region 258 indicates the number of requests withsetup times between 1.1 seconds and 1.2 seconds. As illustrated, thethird layer visualization 250 also comprises a legend 260 to indicate toa viewer what the visual indicators (e.g. colors) of each regionrepresent. In alternate embodiments, the legend is omitted.

In further example, FIG. 7 illustrates one embodiment of a graphicaluser interface displaying an exemplary third layer visualization 300.The third layer visualization 300 displays information regarding theavailability of the website from the second layer visualization 150 withthe highest response time (i.e., the graphical bar 154). For example,the third layer visualization 300 comprises regions 302 and 304 thatindicate availability for the website www.attws.com. As illustrated, theregion 302 indicates availability (represented in a legend 306 as a one)and the region 304 indicates non-availability (represented in the legend306 as a zero).

The visualization constructor 14 is also capable of creating moredetailed first layer visualizations than the first layer visualization100, if so specified in the interaction rules. For example, FIG. 8illustrates one embodiment of a graphical user interface displaying anexemplary first layer visualization 350. Unlike the first layervisualization 100 which provided only summary data for the providers 1and 2, the first layer visualization 350 displays more detailedinformation relating to the number of SLO violations for each of theservices provided by each of the providers and organizes thisinformation by date and time stamp (i.e., the numbers running across thetop of first layer visualization 350). Similarly, FIG. 9 illustratesanother embodiment of a graphical user interface displaying an exemplaryfirst layer visualization 400. The first layer visualization 400displays even more detailed information than the first layervisualization 350 by display both SLO violations and response time foreach of the each of the websites of each of the providers. Asillustrated in both first layer visualization 350 and first layervisualization 400, shading can be used to highlight the differentproviders or to bring a third dimension to the visualization.

After the visualization constructor 14 has created the sequence ofvisualizations, the visualization constructor 14 ranks the sequence ofvisualizations and places the visualizations into an order, e.g.ascending, descending, and the like, based on the relative position ofthe data represented in each of the visualizations in the data stream70. In one embodiment, this ranking is used to order the sequence ofvisualizations for automated display in computer slide show.

Returning to FIG. 2, once the visualization constructor 14 has rankedand ordered the sequence of visualizations, the image compositor 16transforms the sequence of visualizations into a sequence of images, asindicated by block 64. In alternate embodiments, the images are createdby the visualization constructor 14. In one embodiment, the imagecompositor 16 also selects a foreground and background color for theimage. In another embodiment, the image compositor 16 can also enlargeor shrink the size of each image. In yet another embodiment, the imagecompositor 16 can save the images as a sequence of image files, such asJPG files, or compiles the images into a presentation, such as acomputer displayed slideshow. In still another one embodiment, thisslideshow can be automated and thus configured to display each of theimages for a predetermined amount of time. In another embodiment, theimage compositor 16 creates an image in which a user is able to get moredetailed information from the image by pointing a graphical pointer at apart of the image. In still another embodiment, the image compositor 16stores the images on a storage medium, such as a shared disk drive. In afinal embodiment, the image compositor 16 composes the images fordisplay on either an internal web page or a World Wide Web page.

While the invention can be susceptible to various modifications andalternative forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way ofexample in the drawings and will be described in detail herein. However,it should be understood that the invention is not intended to be limitedto the particular forms disclosed. Rather, the invention is to cover allmodifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spiritand scope of the invention as defined by the following appended claims.

1. A method for creating visualizations, the method comprising:importing, by a processor, data from a data stream at a time interval;automatically generating, by the processor, an interaction rule for thedata, wherein generating the interaction rule for the data comprises:accessing stored user preferences that specify creation of a sequence ofvisualizations of the data; determining how the data corresponds to thestored user preferences; and generating the interaction rule based onthe correspondence between the data and the stored user preferences;creating, without user interaction by the processor, the visualizationsand an order of display using the data and the interaction rule, whereinthe interaction rule specifies the order of display of thevisualizations; and displaying the visualizations sequentially based onthe order of display.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprisingdisplaying a value of a sub-section of a given one of the visualizationswhen a pointer is pointed at the sub-section of the given visualization.3. The method of claim 1, wherein creating the visualizations using thedata and the interaction rule comprises creating a first layervisualization and a second layer visualization, wherein the second layervisualization is a drilldown from the first layer visualization.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, comprising incorporating the visualizations into aslideshow for display on a computer display.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein creating the order of display comprises defining a sequence ofmulti-layered visualizations based on the data.
 6. The method of claim1, wherein creating the visualizations comprises creating visualizationsselected from among a bar chart, an icon, a graphic, a pie chart, apistol chart, or a line chart.
 7. The method of claim 1, whereincreating the visualizations comprises creating a hierarchicalvisualization.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein importing the datacomprises importing the entire data stream.
 9. The method of claim 1,wherein the data comprises reporting data for a computer network. 10.The method of claim 1, wherein creating the visualizations comprisescreating visualizations of financial market performance.
 11. The methodof claim 1, wherein generating the interaction rule comprises generatinga rule that specifies creating a visualization displaying two serviceproviders.
 12. A computer system for providing a graphicalrepresentation of data, the computer system comprising: a processor; aninterface configured to import data and automatically generate aninteraction rule using the data by: accessing stored user preferencesthat specify creation of a sequence of visualizations of the data;determining how the data corresponds to the stored user preferences; andgenerating the interaction rule based on the correspondence between thedata and the stored user preferences; and a visualization constructorconfigured to interact with the processor to create, without userinteraction, the visualizations and an order of display using the dataand the interaction rule, wherein the interaction rule specifies theorder of display of the visualizations; and a display configured todisplay the visualizations sequentially based on the order of display.13. The computer system of claim 12, comprising an image compositorconfigured to create an image using at least one of the visualizations.14. The computer system of claim 12, wherein the visualizationconstructor is configured to create first layer visualization and alower layer visualization.
 15. A tangible computer-readable mediumencoded with instructions, where the instructions, when executed by acomputer, effect creating a plurality of visualizations, theinstructions comprising: an interface program stored on the tangiblecomputer-readable medium configured to import data from a data streamand automatically generate an interaction rule by: accessing stored userpreferences that specify creation of a sequence of the visualizations ofthe data; determining how the data corresponds to the stored userpreferences; and generating the interaction rule based on thecorrespondence between the data and the stored user preferences; avisualization constructor stored on the tangible computer-readablemedium configured to simulate a window and to create the plurality ofvisualizations in the simulated window using the data stream and theinteraction rule without user interaction, wherein the interaction rulespecifies an order of display of the visualizations; and a displayprogram stored on the tangible computer-readable medium configured todisplay the plurality of visualizations based on the interaction rule.16. The tangible computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein theinstructions further comprise an image compositor program stored on thetangible computer-readable medium-configured to create images using thevisualization.
 17. A method for displaying business process data,comprising: importing, by a processor, business process data; accessing,by the processor, a user preference regarding the display of thebusiness process data, wherein the user preference specifies creation ofa sequence of visualizations of the business process data; automaticallygenerating, by the processor, an interaction rule for the businessprocess data based on the user preference and the business process data,wherein generating the interaction rule comprises: determining how thebusiness process data corresponds to the user preference; generating theinteraction rule based on the correspondence between the businessprocess data and the user preference; creating, without user interactionby the processor, the visualizations of the business process data and anorder of display based on the interaction rule, wherein the interactionrule specifies the order of display of the visualizations; anddisplaying the plurality of visualizations in the order of display. 18.The method of claim 17, wherein importing the business process datacomprises importing network availability information.
 19. The method ofclaim 17, wherein generating the interaction rule comprises generatingthe interaction rule which specifies creating a visualization of aservice provider with a highest volume of service requests.
 20. Acomputer system for providing a graphical representation of data, thecomputer system comprising: means for importing data from a data stream;means for selecting a subset of the data; means including a processorfor automatically generating an interaction rule for the subset of databased on predefined preferences, wherein the predefined preferencesspecify creation of a sequence of visualizations of the imported data,and wherein generating the interaction rule is based on determining howthe subset of data corresponds to the predefined preferences; meansincluding the processor for creating first layer visualization using thesubset of data and the interaction rule; means including the processorfor creating a lower layer visualization using the subset of data andthe interaction rule; means for creating an order of display of thefirst and lower layer visualizations as specified by the interactionrule; and means for displaying the first layer visualization and thelower layer visualization with a plurality of other visualizations basedon the order of display without user interaction.
 21. A method forcreating visualizations comprising: importing, by a processor, a datastream; selecting, by the processor, data from the data stream;accessing, by the processor, a list of stored user preferences thatspecify creation of a sequence of visualizations of the data;determining, by the processor, how the selected data corresponds to thestored user preferences; and automatically generating, by the processor,an interaction rule based on the correspondence between the data and thestored user preferences; creating, by the processor, a first layervisualization based on the interaction rule using the selected data;generating, by the processor, an order of display according to theinteraction rule; and displaying the first layer visualization with aplurality of other visualizations in the order of display without userinteraction.
 22. The method of claim 21, comprising creating a secondlayer visualization using the selected data, wherein the second layervisualization is a drilldown from the first layer visualization.
 23. Themethod of claim 1, wherein displaying the visualizations comprisesdisplaying the visualizations in plural graphical user interfacescreens.
 24. The method of claim 12, wherein the visualizations areincorporated into a slideshow to be presented in the display.